Writing Plot & Structure: Plotters, Pantsers, and the Secret Third Option

Of all the writing topics for me to cover in these tutorials, I don’t think anything was as heavily requested as this one: How do I plot my story out? I’ve made it no secret that this is hands down my favorite part of the writing process, and it’s something I rely on heavily to work on a multi-faceted project like Deus Ex Machina. That said, I promise you that story planning isn’t as intimidating as you might think it is. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re first getting started, particularly because it seems like everyone has a different recipe or secret sauce for you to make The Perfect Story™... “Buy my course to learn how to plot a romance that’ll make your reader swoon every time!” “Learn how to write the ultimate mystery novel!” “Plan your thriller in a month!” And then they throw some catchy name on their method, and suddenly you feel like if you’re not using the secret sauce your soup is automatically going to turn out rancid.

I’m not here to sell you a secret sauce. If there’s anything I’ve learned in my years of writing, it’s that every writer works a little differently, and every story demands its own rhythm. What works for one story or person might not work for another. So, I’m not going to tell you how to construct a perfect plot. I’m going to share the methods and perspectives that have helped me keep my storylines straight, but keep in mind that this is my method. Consider it another tool in your toolbox. Maybe my method will work for you too, or maybe it’s not your speed. Just remember that in writing, there’s no objectively wrong way to do something, only techniques that are ill-suited to you or the story you’re trying to tell. But first, let’s define our terms so we’re at least starting on the same page.

Plot, Structure, and Where They Differ

Plot - The sequence of events and/or character choices that make up the story, usually defined by cascading cause and effect.

Structure - The general direction of the plot sequence; the rise and fall of the sequence to turn a series of events into a bona fide story.

Pacing - The speed at which we advance through the plot along the structure.

So you can think of it this way… If your story is a roller coaster, the plot is the cars, the structure is the track, and the pacing determines whether or not the passenger (the reader) will break their neck on the ride. And your characters? They’re the underpaid theme park attendants. You should give them a raise, by the way.

I’ll get more into how plot and characters intertwine later on, but for now I’d like to get this out of the way:

When I write, I plan the plot, and adjust said plot for pacing. What I don’t do is plan the structure.

“Huh? You just said that the structure is the track? How is it a roller coaster without a track?”

How indeed.

Hang the Code

Let’s break down a little more what exactly a structure is before I continue to tell you that you don’t need it.

If you’ve done any amount of research on writing fiction, plotting, or literary analysis, you’ve definitely ran into this chart:

This is a classic example of structure. It even looks like a roller coaster track, doesn’t it? A boring, predictable track, but a track nonetheless.

Here’s another one:

Oh look, this one’s got a loop de loop!

What’s the one thing these two structures have in common? You can see them. And if your reader can see the track, don’t be surprised when they call out your twists and turns 50 pages ahead of time.

Here’s the thing about story structures: we’ve all seen them. Whether we’ve seen it written out as a proper diagram, or whether we’ve seen it played out in 20 different movies, we’ve still seen the structure. That means you and your readers are drawing from the same knowledge base, and just like you are trying to select a structure that best fits your story, your reader is also actively filtering through their memory of stories to find one they’ve seen before that best matches yours. It’s that pattern recognition that allows readers to predict the events of your story before they happen. Call it meta-gaming, but if your reader is tuned in and actively following your story, they’re probably doing this subconsciously. I don’t blame them for it. It’s the sign of an attentive reader, and I love an attentive reader.

Maybe this was just me, but I remember studying story structure in high school and being given assignments to read a book or watch a movie and see how it lined up to a particular story structure (cough, Star Wars, cough, The Hero’s Journey, cough). Point being, readers are quite literally trained to predict and determine structure. Which brings me to this:

Story structure is for the reader, not the writer.

Story structures are designed to analyze literature after the fact, not to aid in its construction.

Or in other words:

Story structure is descriptive, not prescriptive.

They are templates and rules that are made to be broken. As writers, we have the freedom and privilege to do that, and more often than not, a reader will see your story as a breath of fresh air because of it. They’re just as tired of reading the same old thing as you are of writing it. So to quote Elizabeth Swan: “Hang the code, and hang the rules! They’re more like guidelines anyway.”

Constructing the Trackless Coaster

Here’s the trick: your roller coaster isn’t actually trackless. It’s a dark ride. There is an underlying structure, and yet that structure won’t reveal itself until you’ve completed the plot. Now sometimes, when you turn on the lights after the ride is over, you may look at your track and say “ah! Look, I used story structure XYZ!” And that’s fine. As I said before, if you consume a lot of media, these structures are burned into your writer-brain the same way that they’re burned into your reader’s brain. So, it’s only natural that you’ll channel some of that into your own work.

However, you might also find that by ignoring structure as you plot, your track has a few extra twists and turns that neither you nor your reader could have seen coming. Congratulations, you’ve invented a brand new story structure! Now you can package it up into a how-to book and sell millions of copies to literary nerds and novice writers, ahem.

The Methods

Now that I’ve established how utterly unnecessary structural analysis is for your work in progress, it’s time to get to the meat of story construction: Creating the plot. Remember, plot is the sequence of events that compose the story, the cars on your roller coaster. Supposedly, there are two kinds of writers…

The Plotter - A writer who designs every aspect of their story before drafting. They construct a full outline, know every story beat, and might even go so far as to script dialogue or write full scenes ahead of time. The plot is completely planned before the pen ever hits the paper. These writers can often run into the issue of their story feeling too stiff or scripted, leaving a predictable storyline and dry characters. However, structural edits (altering the plot or pacing) are a breeze to work through later. Future edits are focused on things like voice and character development.

The Pantser - A writer who “flies by the seat of their pants.” They jump straight into drafting, then whip their story into shape through rigorous editing after the first draft is complete. The plot evolves naturally as they discover it while writing. These writers often have heavy structural edits to do later, which can be overwhelming and a total slog after the freedom of their first draft. However, they’ll sometimes have vibrant characters and unique twists to work with.

But wait, a third contender steps into the ring!

The Plantser - A writer who combines both plotting and pantsing techniques to reach a happy medium. They construct a bare bones plot while leaving plenty of room for discovering through drafting. These writers balance the benefits of a roadmap with the benefits of free-writing, resulting in a story that has a natural progression with fewer structural edits required later on. Future edits are a mix of structural and character edits.

So there are three approaches for you to choose from for any given project: to plan, to wing it, or to attempt something in between. Personally, I’ve used all three methods at one point or another. Each one has its pros and cons, and I think it’s important for a writer to consider not only which one will best suit your creative method, but also which one is best suited for the kind of project you’re attempting. You probably have a decent idea of which method most appeals to your writing style based on your reaction to the descriptions above. But, what about your project? Here are my suggestions:

Plotting is best for long-term projects. If you believe writing the story will take you longer than a month or so, or if you feel like you’ll forget important story details before you reach them during drafting, you should consider a plotter’s approach. Similarly, if you’re planning to have intertwining plotlines or a sprawling cast of characters, plotting will make it easier for you to keep track of things.

Plotting:

• A novel or novel series

• A long-running comic with a centralized storyline (as opposed to an episodic series)

• Lengthy, story-driven RPG campaigns

• Stories with a lot of intrigue, mystery, or complex character dynamics

• Anything the requires intense world-building

Pantsing is best for short-term projects. If you’re confident you can finish your project in a month or two before all the details slip out of your brain, your project is well suited to the writing sprint that winging it requires. These stories are often more simplistic, with a single main character and a straightforward plot.

Pantsing:

• Short stories or novellas

• Episodic or serialized content (comics, web stories)

• Sandbox or player-driven RPG campaigns

• Emotionally-driven stories, or stories with a meandering, whimsical vibe

• Stories set in a pre-made world, or that require very little world-building

Plantsing is the most versatile option, able to be applied to pretty much any project. It’s a great middle ground if you as the writer naturally incline toward one side of the plan-it or wing-it spectrum, but your project type leans the other direction. For example, I tend to find my writing style leans into pantsing techniques, but I also want to write long-form content. Instead of going against my writing style for the sake of the story, I compromise and practice plantsing to make the process more comfortable for myself. This way, I still feel the freedom that comes from discovery writing in my draft, but I have enough of an outline to re-orient myself if I get too lost in the weeds.

My, Would You Look at the Time?

In the interest of brevity, I’m going to cut this tutorial here. Rest assured, I have plenty more to say on this topic! In my next writing post, I’ll dive more into how to construct a loose outline for your story, how characters drive plot, and how pacing determines your scene choice. From here on, I’ll be focusing more closely on plantsing techniques, as it’s the most adaptable plotting method for many writers.

Before you go, a question for you:

Do you think you’re a plotter or a pantser, or do you fall somewhere in between? What about your project, does it fall into the same category?

I’ll be leaving my answer to the question in the comments!